Article conveying apparatus for use with spray paint guns



June 10, 1958 F. E. MILLER, JR., ET AL 2,838,025

ARTICLE! CONVEYING APPARATUS. FOR USE WITH SPRAY PAINT GUNS Filed July 27, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a z I 77\ 2 J5 I: v 1

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INVENTORS EEZMILLEJP r122 BY DESK/NAM)? ATTORNEYS June 1953 F. E. MILLER, JR., ET AL 2,838,025

ARTICLE CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR USE WITH SPRAY PAINT GUNS Filed July 27, 1956 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ENVENTORS I. EH11, L E1? UP. D112 JKJNA/ER ATTORNEYS June 10, 1958 F. E. MILLER, JR., ETAL 2,838,025

ARTICLE CONVEYING APPARATUS FORVUSE WITH SPRAY PAINT GUNS Filed July 2'7, 1956 4 Sh eetsSheet 5 INVENTORS Z'ENZZ LEE d2. Y 11H. .SKJJVA/ER ATTORNEYJ u 1958 F. E. MILLER, JR., ETAL 2,838,025

ARTICLE CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR USE WITH SPRAY PAINT GUNS Filed July 27, 1956 4 Sheet-Sheet 4 F 23 10 I; 74 25 I I gilllllllfl I M,

INVENTORS ITEM/z .552 (if. BY AH. SKIN/v5 ATTORNE United States Patent O ARTICLE CONVEYING APPARATUS FOR USE WITH SPRAY PAINT GUNS Frank E. Miller, 51"., Toledo, Ohio, and David H. Skinner,

Detroit, Mich, assignors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application July 27, 1956, Serial No. 600,469 9 Claims. (Cl. 118-322) Our invention relates'to apparatus for use with spray guns for spray painting or coating small articles and particularly to the conveying apparatus by which workholders carrying the articles are conveyed to and through the spraying zone. As herein illustrated and described the invention is adapted for use in connection with the spray painting or coating of small articles. such as closure caps for bottles or other containers.

An object of the invention is to provide novel means by which the workholders may be carried through the spraying machine in rapid succession and without time lost in loading and unloading the spraying machine. The invention provides workholders in the form of specially designed rods each carrying a multiplicity of individual holding devices for the workpieces. The holding devices, in the form of. spring clips are mounted for rotation on the workholder rods and are rotated while passing through the spraying zone. The workholders are loaded on a feed conveyor which is driven step by step to bring the workholders in succession into position for being processed through the spraying booth. The workholders are propelled lengthwise to carry the workpiece through the spraying zone, each workholder being delivered to a discharge conveyor afterthe coating operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for spraying the articles by a method which permits the articles to be retained on the workholders, thus reducing handling the articles when several successive spraying or coating operations are to be performed on each article. This also minimizes the possibility of mechanical damage to the. articles or their coating.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partly diagrammatic and with parts broken away, of an apparatus for practicing the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus with parts broken away;

means for driving the workholders past the spray gun or guns.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, the apparatus comprises, in general terms, workholders in the form. of rods on which are mounted spring clips 11 carryingthe workpieces 12, a feed conveyor comprising conveyor chains. 13 on which the workholders 10 are placed, the conveyors being driven step by step to bring the workholders in line with the spraying apparatus, a cylinder 15 for moving the workholders lengthwise toward the spraying zone within the booth 16, propelling means 17 for propelling the workholders lengthwise and thereby carrying them in succession past the spray gun or guns 18, a discharge conveyor comprising conveyor belts or chains 20 on to which the workholders are delivered, and a motor 21 for driving the discharge conveyor.

The workholders 10 are in the form of straight rods, hexagonal in cross section. The spring clips 11 on which the workpiece 12 are mounted, are attached to spindles 23 (Fig. 8) which are journalled for rotation in the rods 10. Each spindle has fixed thereto a sprocket Wheel 24 which is driven by a sprocket chain 25 for rotating the workpieces during the spraying operation as hereinafter described.

The feed conveyor comprises the parallel endless conveyor chains 13 which are trained over sprocket wheels including a driving sprocket Wheel 26 (Fig. 7) keyed to a drive shaft 27. The feed conveyor is driven intermittently, step by step, by an air motor comprising a cylinder 28. The piston rod 29 of the motor is operatively connected through a pawl 30 and ratchet 31 to the drive shaft 27. The sprocket chains 13 have mounted thereon carriers 32 on which the workholders 10 are supported. Each carrier 32 is formed with upwardly divergent inclined bearing surfaces 33 which are spaced apart to receive the hexagonal workholders 10. The supporting surfaces 33 are inclined at the same angle as the downwardly convergent contacting surfaces of the holders 10.

The feed conveyor mechanism is mounted on a supporting frame 34. A stationary bar 35 parallel with the conveyor chains 13 provides a stop gauge against which the workholders abut when on the conveyor. The workholders 10 may be placed manually on the supports 32 with the end of the workholders in contact with the bar 35. The step-by-step movements of the feed conveyor chains bring the workholders 10 in succession into position for being processed through the spraying zone. Each workholder when brought to such position is given an initial lengthwise movement by the air cylinder or motor 15 operating through a pusher 37 attached to the piston rod of the motor in position to engage the workholder.

Each workholder 10 is guided during its lengthwise movement off the feed conveyor (Fig. 4) by pairs of guide rolls, each pair including a roll 38 and a roll 39. The rolls 38 are mounted for rotation on a stationary bar 40. The rolls 39 are carried on a bar 41 which is mounted for swinging movement to carry the rolls 39 downward out of the path of the transverse movement of the workholders. Referring to Fig. 7, the bar 41 is carried on rock arms 42 on a rock shaft 43. The shaft 43 is rocked by a piston. motor 44 having operating connection with the bar 41 including an arm 45 bolted to the bar 41 and connected by a pivot 46 to the piston rod S7 of the motor. When the motor is operated to draw the piston rod downward the bar 41 with the rolls 39 thereon is swung down ward outof the path of the workholders 10 and their carriers 32. The motor 44 is operated in alternation with the operation of the motor 28 by which the feed conveyor is driven. The peripheries 48 of the rolls 38, 39 are recessed, presenting V-shaped surfaces conforming to the hexagonal surfaces of the workholder rods 10, thereby supporting the rods while they are advanced lengthwise between the rolls. The peripheral surfaces of all the rolls, which contact the hexagonal rods 10 are preferably of this V formation, referred to as V-rolls.

Each workholder When moved lengthwise by the motor 15 is, brought between pairs of rolls which grip the rod and propel it into the spraying booth as presently described. As shown in Figs. 4 and 9, these propelling rolls include rolls 49 mounted on a bar 50 for engagement with one side of the workpiece or rod 10, and co- 3 operating rolls 51, 52, 53, and 54 which engage the opposite side of the bar 10. The peripheral surfaces of the rolls 49 and the opposite rolls 51 to 54 are V-shaped to conform to the hexagonal shape of the rods and those which grip and propel the rods are made of rubber or similar material.

Referring to Fig. 9, the roll 51 is journalled on a spindle 57 screw threaded into a block 58 which is attached by bolts 59 to stationary platform 60. The roll 52 is keyed to a shaft 62 which is journalled in a bearing block or link 63. This link is connected by a pivot pin 64 to the block 58. Rods 56 (Figs. 4 and 9) on which compression springs 55 are mounted, extend through openings in lugs 56 formed on the links 63. The shaft 62 for the roll 52 extends downward through an opening in the platform 60 and carries a pulley 65 keyed to the .shaft by a screw'65 threaded in the hub of the pulley.

The means for mounting the rolls 53 and 54 may be the same as that just described in connection with the rolls 51 and 52. A belt 66 trained over the pulleys 65 is driven by a motor 68 (Fig. 3). The motor has driving connection through a belt 69 with a pulley 70 (Fig. 9) attached to the shaft of the roll 54.

The rolls 52 and 54 being driven by the motor 63 advance the rods 10 into the spray booth. The propelling means 17 as illustrated in Fig. 4 and as above described is duplicated at the opposite side of the spray booth,

thereby serving to propel the workholders on to the discharge conveyor. The workholders as they move on to the discharge conveyor are guided between rolls corresponding to the guide rolls 38 and 39 at the right hand side of the spray booth. The mechanism such as shown .Fig. 7 for swinging the rolls 39 downward may also be duplicated in connection with the discharge conveyor.

The motor 68 serves to-drive the propelling means at both sides of the spray booth.

While the workholders are passing through the spraying zone the spindles 23 (Fig. 8) are rotated as above described by the sprocket chain 25. This chain is driven by a motor 71. The spray paint or other coating material is supplied from a container 72 (Fig. 2) from which the coating material is conducted to the spray guns.

-A bar 73 provides a backing for the stretch of the chain running in mesh with the sprockets 24. Rolls 74, opposite'the bar 73, provide a backing for the workholders 1%).

The operation may be summarized as follows: The operator places. the loaded workholders or rods 10 on the carriers 32 on the feed conveyor chains 13. The feed conveyor operates intermittently to bring the loaded rods '10 in succession to the position 10 (Fig. 4) in line with swung back by its motor 44. As the workholder rod moves into position l0 it actuates a switch operating device 75 which closes a switch 76, thereby operating a solenoid valve for the cylinder 15 so that the latter moves the workholder lengthwise into position to be gripped by the feed rolls of the propelling means 17.

'The workholders are propelled thereby through the spraying zone while the spindles carrying the workpieces are rotated by the chain 25. During such rotation the spray ,gun 18 operates in a conventional manner to apply paint or other coating material to the workpieces. The workholder with the coated workpieces continues its lengthwise movement until arrested on the discharge conveyor .20. Driving means to insure this lengthwise movement of the workholder being completed, includes a. drive roll 4 77 (Fig. 1) driven by the motor 71 operating through driving connections including a belt 78.

The discharge conveyor 20 is operated intermittently to bring the loaded workholders with the coated workpieces into position to be removed by the operator, the discharge conveyor being operated in substantially the same manner as the feed conveyor but driven in the opposite direction. An interlock switch 79 (Fig. 4) may be actuated by a spring loaded detent 79 in the path of the workholders 10 for preventing operation of the feed conveyor mechanism before the workholder 10 in its lengthwise movement has cleared the feed conveyor.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of our invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for use in spray coating articles, comprising workholders each in the form of a rod, a plurality of article holding devices mounted on each rod and spaced at intervals lengthwise thereof, a feed conveyor comprising means for supporting the rods in parallel relation and spaced at intervals lengthwise of the direction of travel of the feed conveyor, means for driving the conveyor and thereby bringing the rods in succession into line with a sprayingzone, and means for moving each rod lengthwise off the feed conveyor and into the spraying zone.

2. The apparatus defined in'claim 1 including means for rotating the article holding devices while in the spraying zone, and a spray gun positioned and operative to spray coat the articles during said rotation.

3. Apparatus for use in spray coating articles, comprising holder rods, a feed conveyor comprising parallel conveyor chains, means for driving said chains, means for holding the said rods in spaced parallel relation on said chains with the rods extending transversely to the direction of travel of the chains, said rods being brought by travel of thechains to a discharge position, and means operable to move each said rod from said discharge position in a direction lengthwise of the rod and thereby moving the rod off the feed conveyor and into a spray coating zone.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 3, including supporting devices attached to said chains for supporting the rods, said supporting devices each having rod supporting surfaces spaced apart and upwardly divergent, the said rods being formed with corresponding upwardly divergent surfaces to seat on the said supporting surfaces.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 3 including guiding means by which the rods are guided during their said lengthwise movement, said guiding means including rolls in the path of movement of the rods to the discharge position, a supporting bar on which said rolls are mounted, and automatic'means for swinging the supporting bar and the rolls thereon out of the path of the rods as each rod approaches said discharge position and thereafter returning the rolls into engagement with the rod at said position.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 3, the means for driving the feed conveyor chains comprising a motor operable periodically to drive the chains intermittently step by step, thereby bringing the rods singly and in successionto said discharge position.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 3, the means for moving said rods lengthwise comprising a piston motor, and means providing operating connection between the motor piston and each rod at said discharge position.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 7 including means for gripping the forward end of said rod when the latter is advanced by said piston motor, and means for driving said gripping means and thereby propelling the rod forward into the spray coating zone.

9. Apparatus for spray coating articles comprising a spray booth, a spray gun therein, a feed conveyor at one side of the booth, a discharge conveyor at the opposite side of the booth, each said conveyor comprising parallel horizontally disposed conveyor chains, means for driving each conveyor intermittently, step by step, workholders comprising rods and means mounted on each rod for supporting articles at positions spaced lengthwise of the rod, said feed conveyor being operable to bring the workholders in succession into a discharge position in line with the spray booth, means for moving each said Workholder lengthwise from said discharge position into the spray booth and from the spray booth on to the discharge conveyor, means for rotating the said articles While within the spray booth, and spraying means for spray coating the articles during their rotation within the spray booth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hicks Aug. 26, 1902 Welser Mar. 9, 1920 Bowman et a1. Sept. 8, 1925 Willshaw et al May 25, 1937 Ross Aug. 6, 1940 Sanborn Jan. 27, 1942 Remington et a1. May 13, 1947 Schoepe Oct. 31, 1950 Taylor Dec. 4, 1951 Green et al. Aug. 30, 1955 

